Licensing

Art UK image licensing service

The Art UK Shop offers a limited range of high resolution images to license for commercial use. If you wish to use a low resolution image you may find that you're able to do so freely. Please review the Art UK image use page for more information.

Licence types

About Academic Licences

License high resolution images for academic publications, including commercial books, e-books, journals and e-journals. Art UK also provides access to low resolution images which, depending on how you use the image, can sometimes be used freely for academic purposes. Please review the Art UK image use page for more information.

About Editorial Licences

A limited range of licences for high resolution images are available for reproduction in books, e-books, magazines and newspapers. We are currently only able to offer the specified licences. If you are interested in purchasing an alternative licence, please email details of your enquiry to licensing@artuk.org and we will seek to expand the licensing options in the future.

About Online / Social media Licences

Art UK provides commercial image licences for use on websites, blogs and for use on social media platforms. All images that are licensed for online reproduction are made available at a maximum size of 1200 pixels, 72 dpi.

Art UK also provides access to low resolution images which in some cases can be used freely for online purposes. Please review the Art UK image use page for more information.

About Retail Licences

A limited range of image licences for retail purposes are available. The current retail options include licensing high resolution images for reproduction in calendars, greeting cards and notelets. If you are interested in purchasing an alternative licence, please email details of your enquiry to licensing@artuk.org and we will seek to expand the licensing options in the future.

About Television Licences

Art UK provides a licence to include artwork images in a television programme to be aired on cable, digital, satellite and/or terrestrial platforms. These are charged on a per country or worldwide basis. If you are interested in purchasing an alternative licence, please email details of your enquiry to licensing@artuk.org and we will seek to expand the licensing options in the future.

Fine art image licensing to use in your research or media project

The art image licensing program from the Art UK Shop includes thousands of fine art images that you can license for use in your academic research project; or in print, television or digital media work. You will find a variety of artworks available to license from Art UK Partner Collections covering a broad spectrum of themes and subject matters. You can use our search tools and filters to find artworks by keyword, collection or artist.

Get an instant quote on image licences

Once you find the right artwork for your requirements, you can use our simple image licence wizard to tell us how you plan to use the image. We will use your answers to provide an instant online quote and the facility to buy online. Your image will be available to download within 30 minutes of placing your order with us.

License artwork for your academic publishing project

Art UK Shop offers image licensing options for academic publishing and research use. We have a range of affordable options for art students and academic researchers. You can use our art images in a variety of academic publications including journals, books, e-books, student dissertations and essays. Adding an image to your work helps bring the subject matter to life and helps to engage the reader or audience.

Find artwork to use in your newspaper or magazine article

Our editorial image licence options are ideal for journalists writing pieces for their newspaper or magazine. Are you writing about a particular piece of fine art, an artist, museum or subject? You can add depth to your writing by licensing an image from our extensive image bank. Don’t just talk about fine art – let your reader see it.

Art images for use in books and print media

Authors and publishers now have access to license a number of images in our fine art image library for use on the cover or interior of their books. The Art UK Shop is an excellent resource for images for reference books or to put on the cover of your latest masterpiece. You can license pictures for global use allowing you to reach a much more comprehensive audience.

License fine art images for your television project

You can now license a number of artworks on the Art UK Shop for use in your TV or news broadcast. Each licence is valid for unlimited transmissions in a single country, or worldwide. Images on the Art UK Shop will be of particular interest to producers of art documentaries, art history shows, school and educational shows or news bulletins.

Buy an image licence from Art UK Shop and support UK art collections

Buying an image licence from the Art UK Shop is quick and easy. Just find the image you want to purchase and use our online usage selector for an instant quote. You can pay online and receive your download in around 30 minutes. Every purchase you make through the Art UK shop supports the ongoing work of UK museums, art galleries and collections.